Metal railroad-tie.



No. 790,698. PATENTE/D MAY 23, 1905.

. R. B. L. MAXEY.

' METAL RAILROAD TIE.

APPLICATION F-ILBD DEG-14. 1904.

'lnvento r.

b I Attorneys view of the same, partially in section.

' UNITED STATES l atentedMay 23, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

METAL RAILROAD-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,698, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed December 14, 1904. Serial No. 236,825-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT EDWARD LEE MAxEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Batesville, in the county of Independence and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and useful Metal Railroad-Tie, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal railway-ties,

and has for its object to improve the construction and increase the strength and durability of devices of this character.

With these and other objects in View, which will appearas the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in whichcorresponding parts are denoted by like designating characters,is illustrated the preferred form of the embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the "same into practical operation, it

being understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as various changes in' departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the drawings thus employed, Figure 1 is a perspective'view illustrating the construction of the improved tie. Fig. 2 is a plan 1g. 3.is a perspective View of a modified form of the tie. Fig. r represents one of the flexible pads detached. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the clamping-bolts detached.

, The improved tie comprises rail-supporting sections having means for connecting the rails thereto, transverse connecting members between the rail-supporting members, brace members-disposed outside the rail-supporting members, diagonal braces between the railsupports and brace members and betweenthe rail-supports and transverse connecting members, and flexible pads between the rails and rail-supports.

The rail-supports, transverse connecting members, and outside brace members are formed of sections of channel-bars placed back to back and united by rivets through the vertical webs and with the upper flanges of greater thickness than the lower flanges and the vertical webs. I

The rail-supporting portions of the device consist of sections of channel-bars having the vertical webs 1O 11, connected by transverse rivets'l2 and with the upper flanges 13 1 1' heavier than the lower flanges 15 16, the up per flanges also provided with spaced guard.- plates 17 "18, riveted thereto for bearing against the outer edges of the tie-flanges of the rails.

The guard-plates are also provided with apertures to receive clamp-bolts 19, passing down through theflanges 13 14: and supplied 34 for extending over the tie-flanges of the rails. The bolts 19 are also provided with transverse apertures beneath the nuts 20 for receiving wedge-keys 35 as additional security to the nuts.

The transverse connecting members are formed with the vertical webs 21 22 placed back to back and connected by the transverse rivets 23 and with the flanges cut away at the ends and with portions" of the vertical webs left protruding by thus cutting away the flanges bent laterally in opposite directions, as at 24: 25, and secured in position by the rivets 12, as shown.

The'outsidebrace members are formed of sections of channel-bars with the vertical webs 26 27 connected by transverse rivets 28 and with portions of the flanges cut away at one end and the portions of the vertical webs thus left protruding and bent laterally, as at 29 30, in opposite directions and riveted to the vertical Webs 1O 11 of the rail-supporting members by the rivets 12, as shown more clearly at the right of Fig. 2. i

Diagonal braces 31 32 are arranged, respectively, between the rail-supporting members and the transverse connecting member and between the rail-supporting members and the outside brace members, the ends of the diagonal braces being secured in position by the same rivets 12, which connect the vertical webs 1O 11-, and the rivets 23 and 28, which I secure the vertical webs 21 22.

Pads of suitable flexible material, such as heavy sole-leather, will be employed between the upper bearing-surfaces of the flanges 13 14: and the rails,- one of which is indicated at 33, to receive the impact and relieve the tie structure from the jars and concussions of the passing trains.

The improved tie herein shown and described, it will be obvious, is very strong'and' durable, can be inexpensively manufactured, and will outlast many times the ordinary wooden tie and provide a greatly-increased stability and rigidity, while at the same time by employing the flexible packing member 33 the severe jars and concussions are absorbed, and thus not communicated to the rollingstock or to the ties and rails.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modified form of the transverse portion of the tie structure wherein the central connecting member and the outside brace members are in one piece, and the rail-supporting portions will be divided and connected upon opposite sides of the integral transverse member; but this would not be a departure from the principle of the invention or sacrifice any of its advantages.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of sections of channel-bars placed back to back with their vertical webs secured together, and a transverse connecting member formed of channel-bars secured web to web with their flanges cut away at the ends and the webs in advance of the cut-away portions bent laterally and secured to the railsupporting members.

2. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of sections of channel-bars secured web to web, and with spaced guardstrips attached to the upper flanges for bearing against the tie-flanges of the rails, and a transverse connecting member formed of channel-bars secured web to web and with the flanges cut away at the ends and the webs in advance of the cut-away portions bent laterally and riveted to the vertical webs of the rail-supporting members.

3. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of sections of channel-bars secured web to web, a transverse connecting member formed of channel-bars secured web to web with the flanges cut away at the ends and the vertical webs in advance of the cutaway portions bent laterally and secured to the rail-supporting members, and diagonal braces connected terminally respectively to said transverse connecting member and said rail-supporting members.

4. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of sections of channel-bars members formed of sections of channel-bars placed web to web, a transverse connecting member formed of channel-bars placed web to web with the flanges cut away at the ends and the webs in advance of the cut-away portions bent laterally and secured to the railsupporting members, diagonal braces conneeted between said transverse connecting member and said rail-supporting members and between said rail-supporting member and said brace members.

6. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of sections of channel-bars placed back to back with spaced guard-strips attached to the upper flanges for hearing against the opposite edges of the rails, a yieldable pad supported upon said rail-supporting member to receive the impact of the rail, and a transverse connecting member formed of channel-bars placed back to back and connected by transverse rivets througl'i the vertical webs, the flanges being cut away at the ends and the vertical webs in advance of thecut-away portions being bent laterally and riveted to the vertical webs of the railsupporting members.

7. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of channel-bars placed web to web with the upper flanges on which the rails bear of greater thickness than the remainder of the bars.

8. In a railway cross-tie, a rail-supporting member comprising a vertical web having lateral flanges at its upper and lower edges for respectively supporting the rails and bearing upon the tamping material and having means for securing the rail longitudinally thereon, in combination with connecting means extending between opposite rail-supports.

9. In a railway cross-tie, rail-supporting members formed of sections of channel-bars placed web to web with their flanges respectively bearing upon the tamping material and supporting the rails and having means for securing the rails longitudinally thereon, in combination with connecting means extending between opposite rail-supports.

10. In a railway cross-tie, a rail-supporting member comprising a vertical web having lateral flanges at its upper and lower edges for respectively receiving the rails and 'bear- In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing as ing upon the tamping material, and spaced my own 1 have hereto aflixed my signature in IQ guard-strips connected toflthe upperhflangies the presence of two Witnesses.

for bearing against the tieanges of t e rai s,

Washers havinglateralprojectionsand secured ROBERT EDWARD LEE MAXEY' tosaid guard-strips for extending over the Witnesses: tie-flanges, and connecting ,means extending T. ALBERT, between opposite rail-supports. S. B. MYCOUGH. 

